Thank you to our sponsors for supporting the Wildlife Film Academy:
Why Sponsor?
The Wildlife Film Academy is an initiative of the NHU AFRICA and its vision is to create a small pool of talented, dynamic and innovative international and previously disadvantaged southern African wildlife filmmakers who will showcase southern Africa’s wildlife and conservation efforts.
Through the innovative teaching of a holistic blend of technical, ecological and business skills, the Wildlife Film Academy will equip its learners to make original and exciting southern African wildlife films.
The Wildlife Film Academy makes meaningful contributions to society by:
- Skills development of previously disadvantaged South Africans;
- Promoting southern Africa as a premier destination for wildlife filmmaking;
- Showcasing southern Africa’s natural heritage and conservation efforts to local communities.
Motivation for the Wildlife Film Academy:
At present there are no short courses available in South Africa specifically designed for wildlife filmmaking and there are very few in the rest of the world (a weekend course in Britain and two university masters programmes, one in America and one in New Zealand, both 2 years in length). The opportunity existed to establish a one month wildlife filmmaking course in South Africa.
Southern Africa has all the attributes to be the world’s foremost wildlife filmmaking destination and has good infrastructure and a spectacular and varied wildlife heritage. What the country lacks is a group of skilled, young (especially previously disadvantaged) wildlife filmmakers who will make the best use of the incredible resources on offer.
At the Wild Talk Africa conferences in August 2005 (30 people attended) and in April 2006 (350 people attended), there was virtually no representation from previously disadvantaged South Africans. To this end it is imperative that we make every effort to inspire, train and equip young African filmmakers in the art of capturing the region’s natural heritage on film so that they may be custodians of presenting the country’s natural heritage into the future.
By increasing the pool of previously disadvantaged wildlife filmmakers, the Wildlife Film Academy aims to add another dimension to the way that wildlife films are made, and that is southern African students who complete the Wildlife Film Academy course will be able to tell wildlife stories through their eyes and with perspectives that have been hugely under-represented in the past.
The future of conservation in southern Africa depends firmly on the message received by the majority of the country’s people. By training PDI’s, the Wildlife Film Academy will be facilitating the transmission of the conservation message in fresh, new ways that are relevant to the majority of the inhabitants of South Africa. The value of transferring the conservation message to the whole country will have spin offs for generations to come.
Opportunities of Sponsorship and Affiliation:
Prospective sponsors can assist the Wildlife Film Academy in a variety of ways and the options have been outlined below.
Option 1: Marketing the Wildlife Film Academy on your website
One of the greatest challenges facing a new operation like the Wildlife Film Academy is becoming known in the market place. A link on your website to the Wildlife Film Academy website would be hugely beneficial in terms of identifying potential students who would be interested in attending a wildlife filmmaking course.
Option 2: Placement of Interns
One of the greatest challenges facing a new operation like the Wildlife Film Academy is becoming known in the market place. A link on your website to the Wildlife Film Academy website would be hugely beneficial in terms of identifying potential students who would be interested in attending a wildlife filmmaking course.
Option 3: Sponsorship of a Scholarships
A sponsor could identify potential candidates who they feel would benefit from the one month filmmaking course offered by the Wildlife Film Academy, and sponsor them to attend the course. They could send one or more students to the Wildlife Film Academy each month. This would assist the sponsor greatly by training interns and or employees who have no wildlife filmmaking experience.
Option 4: Sponsorship of Previously Disadvantaged Individuals (PDI’s)
The Wildlife Film Academy has committed to having a minimum of three previously disadvantaged South Africans attend each monthly course. Most of these PDI’s have no means of funding the course themselves and the Wildlife Film Academy thus needs to assist them in finding partial or full funding for the course. The Wildlife Film Academy would like to offer sponsors the opportunity to sponsor the costs of three previously disadvantaged students per course for a number of courses.
Option 5: Other Opportunity for Sponsorship
There are plenty of other ways of becoming involved in supporting the Wildlife Film Academy, and we would also welcome any of your suggestions.
The following can be sponsored:
- Bags, hats, shirts, pens (branded with your logo)
- Reading or viewing material
- Finance
- Equipment, such as cameras, editing suites and computers
Should you wish to become a sponsor, email info@wildlifefilmacademy.com indicating which option you are interested in. By becoming a sponsor you will be supporting a worthwhile cause by contributing to job creation in South Africa.
In Return, the Wildlife Film Academy can:
- Create a link on the Wildlife Film Academy website to the sponsors website.
- Include the sponsors name in press releases.
- Include sponsors name in the regular newsletter sent out by the Wildlife Film Academy, outlining the sponsorship.
- Equipment, such as cameras, editing suites and computers